


Prisoner of Your Own Mind

by Indigo_Scrub



Category: RWBY
Genre: Acrobatics, F/M, Gunplay, Martial Arts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 05:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3717454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indigo_Scrub/pseuds/Indigo_Scrub
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beacon Academy Student Profile: Second Year: James, Poet. 1.73 Meters tall, 51 Kg, Green eyes, blonde hair. Semblance: Unwilling to say. Appears to be some form of wind control. UPDATE: Student Poet James has been missing for an unacceptable duration of time.</p>
<p>This is based to be in sync with the events of the cannon events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings.

It started in the month of May. Poet James was sitting nearby the docks. He always went there. It was break at Beacon Academy, so he had a lot of time. He often would stare at the night sky from the roof of an abandoned warehouse. This particular night, Poet was grateful for his Faunus heritage. There was no visible moon in the sky, but Poet could see just fine. He heard an abrupt crash, and he looked down. Below him, he saw several men wearing Grimm masks.  _White Fang._ Poet thought.  _Well, might as well do my good deed for the night._ He jumped down, allowing his full weight to fall on the shoulders of one of the Brothers. A man in a white suit coat spoke. "Do cats just hate me?" He asked. Poet's grey cat ears folded back. He recognized that voice from interview films. "Roman Torchwick." He spat. Roman lit hie lighter. "In the flesh." He said. Poet disliked the shit-eating grin the man wore. "Self-proclaimed 'Pirate of Vale'. You know, I pity you." kept talking. The White Fang would at least hesitate to kill a Faunus. It was Roman that had to be distracted. "And why's that, kid?" Roman asked. :There's a certain sport in running a freighter down, broadsiding it. You? You board ships in port, then dump their cargo." Poet was angering the human in front of him. "Look, if you think you can--" "I DON'T! I simply pity you for trying to be something you aren't." Poet turned to walk away, but a blur of pink, brown, and white struck him in the face.

 

He woke to the sound of argument. one voice, he recognized. "I still say we should kill him!" Roman Torchwick. "Now, Roman. You're the one who let not only him sneak up on you, but little Neo as well." That voice, Poet didn't recognize. It was more a feminine purr then speech. "Besides, our guest is awake." She said. A door slid open, and Poet had to shield his eyes from the sudden daylight. "My name is Cinder. I am your new employer." The feminine voice said. "Darkness take your job offer." Poet grunted. Whoever hit him did it well. "Oh, you will." She said. Roman waited for her to walk away, then said: "Oh, you're going to have a change of heart."  Poet opened his mouth to offer a retort, but found he couldn't say anything. Roman simply grinned, and walked out. A brother of the White Fang brought him some food. Poet shook his head at the entree. Chicken, it vaguely smelled like. it was a slop, of some kind. He ate, and felt extremely sleepy. He fell asleep, and dreamed of  a forest of stumps. A peculiar woman who seemed themed after ice cream. "What's your name?" She asked. "Poet." He answered. "Neopolitan. Call me Neo." She said. She walked up to him, and grabbed the sides of his head. "You have beautiful green eyes. It's a shame." She said, before releasing his eyes. Poet shook the thoughts out of his head and listened to her accent. "You're from Mistral." He said. "Am I? This place is our prison. You'll see what I mean soon." She disappeared. Seconds later, Poet was woken by Roman poking him with his cane. Instead of shouting "What" and throttling the man, he simply glared.  _The hell?_ He thought. "C'mon. You've got work." He said. Poet was more then slightly shocked to see his rifle sitting on the table. Less a rifle then a single-barreled HMG, it utilized parts Poet had salvaged from wreckage next to a railway in the Forever Fall Forest. It included two belts of rounds. He also saw a dismantled scroll. Its back casing had the stripe of paint that he put there. He picked up his MG, and walked over to where Cinder was standing. The man with silver hair next to her  leaned over to her and whispered something. "Don't be rude Mercury. And besides, it doesn't have to progress as far as it has with Neo for the effect to work." She said. "Poet." _She obviously went through it as well as dismantled it._ He thought. "This man is Mercury Black. He will back you up on your mission. We need a train bound for Vale, and we need it moved to Mountain Glenn." Poet, who had been paying more attention to attempting to force himself to speak, was caught off guard when Mercury grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him to the waiting dropship. 

 

On the ride back, Poet had puked. three times, to be exact. He didn't suffer from motion sickness, he had killed 6 innocent civilians.  _And I enjoyed it._ He thought. Upon arrival, He walked to the crate he had been kept in, and laid down. His HMG was still clipped to his back, its belt spread across his bedding. When he entered the Forest of stumps, this was how he was dressed. Weapon on his back, clothes covered in small blood stains. "You're lucky. They waited for my eyes to change before thy trusted me." Neo's voice came from behind him. HE whirled, ad saw nothing. "My semblance is illusion, Poet." He looked behind him again, and there she was. "Why is my body not doing what I tell it?" He asked. Neo blinked, and he saw her eyes change color. "I don't know. I know they did the same to me. I know that I can't remember my real name, or my past." She said. Tears welled. "For you it's going so much slower!" She abruptly began yelling. Poet grabbed his gun off his back, and opened up. The thunderous roar of its gunfire felt right. "That's better." He said. As soon as the first bullet struck, the image of her shattered. His Aura warned him of someone behind, and he blocked the short woman's attack with the heavy barrel of his weapon. "Two can play that game." He said. Leaves suddenly left the ground behind Neo, and began spinning extremely quickly. "Tell me, Neo, have you ever seen a tornado of brass?" Poet lept back, and pulled the tornado towards him. Neo smirked. She was too graceful to lose her footing. Then the tornado began ingesting the roughly 80 spent 12.7x99mm bullet casings. The dream suddenly ended. He blinked, and saw Neo standing over him, smirking. She handed him a card. "My Semblance allows me to talk." It read. She flipped it, and it said: "Your eyes. They're changing." With that, she disappeared.  Poet ran to a mirror and found his eyes, like Neo's, alternated between brown, pink, and whit when he blinked. occasionally his actual green would show, but... 


	2. Coping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I tagged a ship. No, I don't know if smut will be involved.

Poet wasn't surprised in the nights to come that he was alone in that forest of stumps. He was, at that moment, stuck following Emerald and Mercury around for "training". In reality it meant he carried the bags while they shopped with stolen money. _The word "douchebag" comes to mind_ , thought Poet. They finally walked out of the shop they had been in. Poet, having grown up in the neighborhood, knew for a fact that it was a... Sexual Merchandise Liquidation Center. A sex toy shop. As they walked out, MErcury continued the conversation that had been ongoing inside. "...I still say we don't need two Neos." He said. Emerald rolled her eyes. "Poet, carry these. Neo has become too effecient. Leaving behind a trail of bodies miles long." She said. Poet raised an eyebrow, and Emerald abruptly stopped. He tapped the watch he was wearing. IT was a deluxe model, with a built-in altimeter, but more importantly, it read 2:37 PM. "We have to get back." She said, and began the trip back. "Why'd you stop?" Mercury asked. Emerald sighed, and said: "If Cinder doesn't share all her plans with Roman, why should we share her plans with him? Just because he doesn't talk doesn't mean he can't listen. The same goes for Neo." _The word smart comes to mind_ , Poet thought. _Although, two outsiders in Vale, one with green hair and red eyes? Not very inconspicuous._ _Then again, Poet himself could hardly be called that, either. A man with eyes that change color, is completely silent, and wears a hood to cover his slowly changing hair? Hardly--_ Poet's train of thought was interupted by hhis scroll buzzing. It wasn't actually HIS scroll, but one Cinder had given him. He looked at it. [We're on guard duty for Roman tonight. Don't be late.-Neo.] It said. Poet dropped the "groceries" in front of Mercury and ran towards the warehouse. Emerald would be mad, but he hardly cared. He hadn't thought of communicating through scroll. He arrived 3 minutes before all three of the were scheduled to return. He knocked on the door to the warehouse. A scroll ID reader was held through a slot. He scanned his Scroll, and the door slid open just enough to admit a person. The warehouse was cavernous, a relic from when Vale attempted to use Whale Oil for power, instead of Dust. Inside, there were Aardvark troopships dominating the entryway, and behind... crate, after crate, after crate of Dust. "Where are the others?" One of theWhite Fang asked him. Poet didn't even bother writing something. He just gave the masked individual a look that said: I will kill you, and I will enjoy it. "Alright, man, orry." he said, and continued his watch. HE walked past all of the maintenance crews and crates into Roman's planning room. "Poet. Do you know how to fly an Aardvark?" Roman asked. Poet typed something on his scroll, and tossed it the redhead's way. Roman caught it. It read: [Of course. How many people don't?] It was fair. The old troopships were cheap, easy to use, and much, much faster then driving in Vale. "Good. NOw, I don't expect any trouble, but kids seem to taken a liking to messing with our operation. You need to deliver some cargo to this spot, and then be in the area in case we need to escape." Poet was giggling silently in the cockpit. There Roman was, disheveled, having just watched, along with half of VAle, a state of the art weapon of war demolished by four teenage girls. He could tell Roman was furious. At the very least, the man had the paitience to wait for Poet to begin the landing sequence before the yelling started. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" He screamed. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BACK ME UP, NOT FLY HALF A MILE AWAY!" _There are advantages to being mute_ , Poet thought. He simply pointed to the armaments display. MAybe, if you had seen fit to give me bullets, instead of gas... He thought. "REGARDLESS! THEY DIDN'T HAVE THAT FREAKY ONE WITH THEM! IF WE EVEN GET 10, NO! 5% RECRUITMENT FROM THAT RALLY, I'LL EAT MY HAT!" Poet just shook his head. They were firmly on the ground now, but he was fairly confident that ROman's rants could be heard in the Atlesin fleet overhead. Poet just shok his head. Those four were dangerous. They would be simple to destroy, at any rate. Remove the one with white hair, and the group's abilities wouldn't be half as powerful. As he walked to his room, he went with the hope of seeing Neo in that forest.


	3. Understanding

Poet was relieved to see Neo there when he nodded off. "Are you going to attack me?" She asked. "That's not fair." Poet pouted. "Aww, is the little guy on his man period?" Poet realized how much taller she was then him, if not in physical height. Poet just sat on the stump nearest Neo's. Neo sighed. "I do remember my changes. You're taking them well, any way."  _If only she knew._ Poet thought. "I do know. You get used to your painful blinks after a while." She said. "You seem to know a lot of what's happening to me." Poet said. "As best I can figure, the changes are caused by somebody's semblance." She said. "What if I kill them?" Poet asked. The wind seemed to pick up in the forest of stumps. "You've tried to kill everyone around you. You know we can't." She said. Sadness did not suit that normally confident face. Poet hugged her. "What are you doing?" She asked. "Comforting you." Poet said. Neo stopped squirming and returned the hug. "Thank you." She whispered. She faded, and the rest of the forest with it. Emerald was standing inside the shipping container in which Poet slept. "You're not a bitch yet. I've decided to speed it up." She said. her red eyes seemed to glow, and Poet stood up.  _God, I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does._ Emerald drew her revolvers, but before she could fire, a sudden sucking feeling grabbed Poet's gut. He found himself outside his container, with Neo holding onto his belt. She raised a finger to her lips, and disappeared. Roman suddenly stormed through, handing Poet global coordinates. "Take anything you can in that container of yours, and take it here." He said, walking past. Poet saw himself on the mirrored surface of the thief's lighter, and he saw his hair was hlaf pink, half brown, with a small stripe of white in the center.  _Well, may as well go with it._ He thought.

 

It took poet thirty minutes in town to acquire what he wanted. Three gallons of paint in the appropriate colors, and a white shirt to go under his already brown jacket. When the Aardvark he flew most often took off, one of the engine pylons was striped brown, white, pink. As he flew, he had plenty of thoughts.  _What did that hug mean?_ He thought, while struggling to get the Aardvark to comply. It was handling like a bloated whale with the cargo container below it, but many pilots thought that of an unloaded Aardvark. Midnight was the flight time of choice in "Roman's" little operation, with running lights removed. This generally didn't bother Poet, but the heightened police activity of late worried Poet that someone might report the roar of turbofan engines flying over the docks at odd hours.  _What am I to her?_ He continued flying, occasionally checking his fuel gauge. He was over water, now. HE looked at his watch. He had been in the air an hour already. He should be there. He landed where he saw pinpricks of light. "Get this one down to the housing area!" A White Fang shouted. Even through the Grimm Masks, they seemed to give Poet strange looks. He decided to revel in the attention, and just walked on past. He walked down the ramshackle staircase built in the old elevator shaft, and gasped at what he saw. A massive cavern, with buildings almost filled to capacity. "Ah, Poet, good. Listen, I'm going to separate you and Neo." Cinder said when he reached the bottom. Poet's expression went through equal parts confusion and anger. "That reaction is exactly why, dear. You two are too attached." Poet's fists clenched, and Cinder seemed almost surprised. Poet ran past, and found a suitable place to hide.  He slept, and wandered in the forest of stumps, hoping for what, he didn't know. A strange woman was sitting on Neo's stump. "Get... off..." Poet growled. The woman looked at him. "Oh, Poet." She said. "Such disrespect to she who is making you beautiful. Cinder will be unhappy to learn you're more independent then Neo." She said. "In the end, it is of little consequence. Do you know how long you've been sleeping? Three days." She said. Neo abruptly appeared, her eyes painted with terror when she saw the woman on the stump. "You!" She shouted. A knife spun out from the cloaked woman, and landed in Neo's chest. "No!" The woman disappeared, leaving Poet with Neo. He cradled her. "You know..." She paused to cough. "I could hear you thinking even outside of here. You're... very loud." Poet smiled down at her. "Yes, it meant something. I..." her coughing stopped, and her eyes faded to a blue color.

 

It would be three years before Poet was ever found again. Sydney Jones walked up to the peculiar looking man. "I hear you can fight. Are you loyal to Vale?" She asked. Poet was wearing white pants, a white shirt, and a brown jacket. His eyes never flicked green anymore, either. He handed her a card. _No. Call me Neo, and I work for free._ It read. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn't that a whirlwind? Not really. Finished summat, though...


End file.
